Edible Gardening Archives

An experienced gardener residing near sea level will perhaps spot out rhubarb pushing up ruddy red bumps out at this time of year.

However, on the higher altitudes like 1,000 feet above MSL there is still enough snow to make gardening a tough task. Those who have a high tunnel, a hoop house, a green-house , there’s plenty of gardening to be done no matter where you live.

In fact, it is time to get on the gardening. In case you are at Alaskan heights, you can at least move dirt around with your fingers, stick some peas in it. If not, start your peas inside. The trick is to know about the fine line between winter and spring as a gardener in higher altitudes who knows which plants are likely to make it. Read the rest of this entry

Having a perfect garden in cities where space crunch is a big issue needs perfect planning and approach to execute. Setting up a garden and maintaining it also require good gardening practices to be adopted.

Too much of plants and green cover can make the task of upholding their beauty, a very grueling one. Lawns, small rooted plants, flowerpots can enhance the splendor of the garden. Avoid planting deep-rooted plants such as Mangoes and Neem as they can destabilize the foundation of your home.

Grow Fruits and Vegetables

The vegetables such as Tomatoes, Cucumber, Radish and Carrots can grow in the backyard if properly maintained. Fruits such as gooseberries can add a value to your garden and serve as a juicy treat. The external temperature should be conducive enough for them to survive. Factors such as sunlight, soil and water play an important role in determining their success. It helps to decide on the selection of seeds for the underlying soil layer. Read the rest of this entry

Their results are a health and wealth bonanza. One dollar invested in a community garden plot yields $6 worth of vegetables according to the article, Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture: Public Health and Food Security on www.foodsecurity.org. Read the rest of this entry

Spring season is the best time to plant crop vegetables. April is a great month to sow pea, lettuce, spinach, carrot and beet seeds. You can also start with potatoes and onions. When selecting seeds a good rule of thumb is to choose disease resistant varieties – you’ll just have fewer problems in the garden.

Always plant vegetables you like and ones that your family will eat. Radishes can be planted now and will mature in about 20 to 30 days. For a continuous harvest, sow seeds every 7 to 10 days until late spring. Carrots are similar to radishes in that they can be sown in intervals for a continuous harvest from early spring to early August.

Leafy greens include lettuce, spinach, collards, and kale. All of these plants tend to become bitter with the onset of hot weather and their quality diminishes quickly. For lettuce try “Black Seeded Simpson” or “Salad Bowl.” Read the rest of this entry

Spring is here and the longer days and warmer weather provide the ideal time to start thinking about the edible garden. With dining in more popular than ever and more of us wanting to know the provenance of our food, lots of us are deciding to flex our green fingers and grow our own produce for the table.

There’s nothing more satisfying that growing your own. Home grown vegetables are much easier to produce than you might think. Even with the minimum amount of equipment and space, you can grow all sorts of delicious foods. It’s important to grow things that you like and that you have a plot in mind that offers some sunshine – even if it’s your front garden or an apartment balcony! Beetroot, squashes and even peas can look great in an ornamental garden so don’t be afraid to use any space you have. Read the rest of this entry

Adding cheers and glory to your garden is easy with container gardening. You can have a good summer garden with splash of lovely colors if you grow some beautiful ornamental plants in containers. Even vegetables can also be grown in containers if you lack enough open space in your garden. You only need to try it and with a little knowledge, beautiful creations are possible.

Begin with selecting any container you like — something that suits your sense of taste and style. Containers now come in plastic, fiber glass, stone, concrete, terra-cotta, various metals, marble, wood, recycled drums, old buckets, bathtubs and so many other forms that even the most discerning taste or limited budget should be able to find one to suit.

In order to ensure that your containers can be used around the year you need to choose a type that will not crack during winter frost and must be capable of holding with extreme temperatures. Your container must have drainage holes in the bottom preferably more than one. Plants grown in containers that do not drain will die a slow, suffocating death. Read the rest of this entry

There are umpteen advantages of an herb spiral.It can be built at little or no cost from readily available materials, it’s a good way in a limited amount of space to grow a variety of herbs that need different growing conditions.

Creating and growing herbs in an herb spiral is really easy with planting. Tending, and harvesting. An herb spiral is sure an attractive idea in itself.

Considering the high cost of culinary herbs, an herb spiral can pay for itself in its first season, and imagine having an abundance of delicious and aromatic herbs right in your yard!

With an herb spiral or a typical herb garden you also create a variety of microclimates. Some plants, such as many of the Mediterranean herbs, need dry, sandy soil conditions, while others require a moist, bottomland type of soil. Read the rest of this entry